You're listening to Imaginary Worlds, a show about how we create them and why we suspend

our disbelief.

I'm Eric Nolinski.

You don't know me who I am, where I've been, where I've been.

And this is Mark Ash, Mike Forsyth, and Trevor Walker of the band Vertigo Direct.

Now, typically in my podcast, I talk with writers, artists, filmmakers, fans, scientists,

professors, but I don't usually talk with musicians.

And when I do talk with creative people, they usually have something out in the world that's

already made an impact.

Vertigo Drift's debut album, which is a three-song EP called Phase 3, comes out later this month.

But it was still a work in progress when I met them at the rehearsal space, which is

one story underground below a barbecue restaurant in Queens.

Now, when they contacted me a few months ago on Facebook, they were not pitching themselves

to be on my podcast.

I just became curious about what they were doing as we started messaging back and forth.

They just wanted to know if I would ever do an episode about concept albums, because

concept albums are basically Imaginary Worlds in music.

I couldn't believe I hadn't made that connection before.

I mean, back when I was in high school, I was obsessed with concept albums.

Tommy, the wall, Russia's 2112.

I'd put on my walkman and I would just lose myself into those worlds.

Now, Trevor Walker is younger than me, so he was more inspired by Janelle Monet's Arch-Android

...